[en] A new book has been prepared to build public trust in the United States by reducing individual fears regarding nuclear energy. Previous attempts have been largely unsuccessful because of one or more of the following handicaps: A. They are written to the scientist, rather than the lay public; B. They tend to intimidate; C. They don't come to grips with underlying fears and emotions; D. They rely too much on facts, ignoring images and analogies; E. They are too expensive for mass sales. The criteria selected for this project were as follows: A. Use eighth grade non-technical language (to the extent possible); B. Treat the reader as an intelligent person seeking to learn; C. Get in touch with the gut issues, and address them sensitively; D. Lighten up (include cartoons and user-friendly graphics); E. Publish paperback edition to induce low price 'impulse buying'. This book is aimed at the 80% of Americans who recognize that nuclear energy must be a significant part of their future, but who are not at all comfortable with that reality. It is targeted for high school and college level supplemental reading, as well as for the general public, the media, and community to better equip their interactions with the public

[en] Full text: There is nothing more vital to the advancement of human civilization than the abundance of usable and affordable energy. It underpins national security, economic prosperity, and global stability. Nuclear energy, which exhibits a unique combination of environmental and sustainable attributes, appears strongly positioned to play a much larger and more pivotal role in the mix of future global energy supplies than it has played in the past. Unfortunately, after a fairly rapid growth period within the industrialized nations in the 1960 to 1980 time frame, a variety of factors led to a substantial reduction in commercial nuclear power plant construction (with the possible exception of several Pacific Rim countries). This, in turn, led to a serious erosion in the enrollment patterns of nuclear engineering programs - causing alarmingly low enrollment levels in many counties by the turn of the century. Numerous studies conducted over the past five years have soberly come to the consistent conclusion that the nuclear pipeline cannot keep up with the needs of the nuclear industry. In fact, when combining the aging work force with low matriculation rates in most nuclear engineering academic programs, a huge (and unacceptable) mismatch between needs and supply is strikingly evident. This is further exasperated by the lack of meaningful efforts to capture the knowledge of the 'first nuclear era' professionals in a form that can be effectively transferred to the upcoming generation. Methods must be found to better capture the enormous body of experience already accumulated and both document it and then mentor the new nuclear engineers that do enter the work force to enable them to build upon this experience, rather than having to re-create it. On the positive side, enrollment patterns in the majority of nuclear engineering programs still in existence within the United States are now generally on the rise, at least at the undergraduate level. Some programs have experienced at least a doubling or more of their undergraduate enrollments in the past half-decade. This has happened as the college generation is being exposed to a 'nuclear renaissance' atmosphere in the United States. The excitement associated with new designs and serious renewed construction dialog, the possibility of producing hydrogen to service the huge transportation sector, the drama of deep space exploration, etc. - all combined with attractive scholarship programs and high starting salaries - are playing a significant role in the rebound. A few of the particularly successful efforts initiated by various sectors of the U.S. nuclear infrastructure to stimulate this rebound will be shared in the hope that some of them might be beneficially employed in other global settings. (author)

[en] The United States, the Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Laboratories, including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), are facing a serious attrition of nuclear scientists and engineers and their capabilities through the effects of aging staff. Within the DOE laboratories, 75% of nuclear personnel will be eligible to retire by 2010. It is expected that there will be a significant loss of senior nuclear science and technology staff at PNNL within five years. PNNL's nuclear legacy is firmly rooted in the DOE Hanford site, the World War II Manhattan Project, and subsequent programs. Historically, PNNL was a laboratory were 70% of its activities were nuclear/radiological, and now just under 50% of its current business science and technology are nuclear and radiologically oriented. Programs in the areas of Nuclear Legacies, Global Security, Nonproliferation, Homeland Security and National Defense, Radiobiology and Nuclear Energy still involve more than 1,000 of the 3,800 current laboratory staff, and these include more than 420 staff who are certified as nuclear/radiological scientists and engineers. This paper presents the current challenges faced by PNNL that require an emerging strategy to solve the nuclear staffing issues through the maintenance and replenishment of the human nuclear capital needed to support PNNL nuclear science and technology programs

[en] The United States, the Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Laboratories, including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), are facing a serious attrition of nuclear scientists and engineers and their capabilities through the effects of aging staff. Within the DOE laboratories, 75% of nuclear personnel will be eligible to retire by 2010. It is expected that there will be a significant loss of senior nuclear science and technology staff at PNNL within five years. PNNL's nuclear legacy is firmly rooted in the DOE Hanford site, the World War II Manhattan Project, and subsequent programs. Historically, PNNL was a laboratory where 70% of its activities were nuclear/radiological, and now just under 50% of its current business science and technology are nuclear and radiologically oriented. Programs in the areas of Nuclear Legacies, Global Security, Nonproliferation, Homeland Security and National Defense, Radiobiology and Nuclear Energy still involve more than 1,000 of the 3,800 current laboratory staff, and these include more than 420 staff who are certified as nuclear/radiological scientists and engineers. This paper presents the current challenges faced by PNNL that require an emerging strategy to solve the nuclear staffing issues through the maintenance and replenishment of the human nuclear capital needed to support PNNL nuclear science and technology programs

[en] The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) has been proposed as a viable system in which to close the fuel cycle in a manner consistent with markedly expanding the global role of nuclear power while significantly reducing proliferation risks. A key part of this system relies on the development of actinide transmutation, which can only be effectively accomplished in a fast-spectrum reactor. The fundamental physics for fast reactors is well established. However, to achieve higher standards of safety and reliability, operate with longer intervals between outages, and achieve high operating capacity factors, new instrumentation and on-line monitoring capabilities will be required--during both fabrication and operation. Since the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) and Experimental Breeder Reactor - II (EBR-II) reactors were operational in the USA, there have been major advances in instrumentation, not the least being the move to digital systems. Some specific capabilities have been developed outside the USA, but new or at least re-established capabilities will be required. In many cases the only available information is in reports and papers. New and improved sensors and instrumentation will be required. Advanced instrumentation has been developed for high-temperature/high-flux conditions in some cases, but most of the original researchers and manufacturers are retired or no longer in business

[en] The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) will require the development of actinide transmutation, which can most effectively be accomplished in a fast-spectrum reactor. To achieve higher standards of safety and reliability, operate with longer intervals between outages, and achieve high operating capacity factors, new instrumentation and on-line monitoring capabilities will be required-- during both fabrication and operation. This paper reports parts of a knowledge capture and technology state-of-the-art assessment for fast-reactor instrumentation and controls, monitoring and diagnostics. (authors)

[en] 1 - Description of problem or function: MELT3 is a multichannel, neutronics, thermal-hydraulics digital computer program developed to investigate the transient behavior of a fast reactor during postulated transient overpower conditions. Reactivity feedback resulting from Doppler broadening, coolant density change and expulsion, bulk core expansion, and fuel movement are explicitly taken into account. The bulk of the modeling detail has been addressed to the in-vessel portion of the reactor plant, although the friction and inertial aspects of up to three separate closed primary loops can be simulated. A wide variety of accident conditions may be investigated. Particular modeling emphasis has, however, been placed on the simulation capabilities required for an unprotected transient overpower accident sequence. 2 - Method of solution: The energy equations are solved by a Crank- Nicholson type implicit scheme. The momentum equations are solved by an iterative implicit scheme. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Calculations for up to 20 channels (e.g., 20 pins representative of subassembly clusters) and 20 axial segments within the fuel region may be performed simultaneously. A total of 10 different axial coolant flow zones having different flow areas (comprising a total of 75 nodes) can be explicitly modeled in the axial direction. Radial heat transfer calculations within each pin axial segment are performed using up to 12 radial fuel nodes (including one surface node), 3 cladding nodes (including inner and outer surface nodes), a coolant node, and a structural node